Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Traditionally, TMS coils have been of a circular or figure-8 shape, designed to achieve maximum strength at a single point. For treatment of depression with standard TMS, a large electromagnetic coil is placed against or near the scalp near the forehead. The electromagnet used in TMS creates electric currents and magnetic fields that stimulate nerve cells in the region of your brain involved in mood control and depression.
The design of TMS coils can vary based on, for example, the type of material used to construct the core of the coil, the geometry of the coil configuration and the characteristics of the pulse produced by the coil. The coil is generally composed of a ferromagnetically active material and is generally called a ‘solid-core’ design. Several different types of coils exist, each of which produce different magnetic field patterns which include round coils, figure-eight coils, double-cone coils and four-leaf coils. Design variations in the shape of the TMS coils allows for variable penetration of the brain with the magnetic field generated by the coils. TMS devices generally are configured to treat one area of the brain at a time. In cases where multiple areas of the brain are desired to be treated then sequential treatments of the different regions of the brain are required.
The present invention provides novel rTMS devices that are capable of stimulating two or more regions in the brain of a patient treated with such a device when rTMS is required to generate synchronous TMS pulses that affect multiple regions of the brain.